1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an output control apparatus, an output control system, an output control method, a computer-readable recording medium, and a computer program. More particularly, the invention is suitable when it is used for outputting a job by an optimum output apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, in a system such that data is outputted by an output apparatus such as a printer or the like, if an alternative output apparatus or an automatic output destination changing function for presetting deciding conditions is used, when the output apparatus in which the automatic output destination changing function has been set enters a state where a job cannot be outputted, the output destination is certainly changed to the alternative output apparatus such as another output apparatus recorded in a table, output apparatus in a normal state, or the like.
Also, the output destination is certainly changed in a case where it is not always difficult to restart a print such as case where difficulty of recovery of the output apparatus is not known when even a state of the output apparatus cannot be grasped, case where a judgment of a situation of the output apparatus is inaccurate due to a fault on a host computer side, or the like.
However, according to the conventional technique as mentioned above, only the operation such that if the alternative output apparatus or the automatic output destination changing function which presets the deciding conditions is used, in the case where the output apparatus in which the automatic output destination changing function has been set enters the state where a job cannot be outputted, the output destination is certainly changed to the alternative output apparatus such as another output apparatus recorded in the table, output apparatus in the normal state, or the like can be executed.
Therefore, even in a fault of the output apparatus such as “door is open”, “no paper”, or the like which occurs relatively often and can be easily recovered, the unnecessary change in output destination is executed. Thus, a load of another output apparatus is increased or stress of the user who uses another output apparatus is increased.
Only the operation such that the output destination is certainly changed in a case where it is not always difficult to restart a print such as case where difficulty of recovery of the output apparatus is not known when even a state of the output apparatus cannot be grasped, case where a judgment of a situation of the output apparatus is inaccurate due to a fault on a host computer side, or the like can be executed.
In the case where the user wants to determine the output destination by himself each time in accordance with various situations such that a job cannot be outputted from the output apparatus, both of a manual output destination changing function and the automatic output destination changing function cannot be used together.
Further, the operation such that the user arbitrarily designate the presence or absence of the automatic output destination change or a shift to the manual output destination change or the user registers and selectively uses those functions in accordance with various situations such as case where the states of those output apparatuses are unknown, case where the state of the output apparatus cannot be correctly grasped due to a fault of the host computer or system for controlling the output apparatuses, and the like cannot be executed.